Alexandria/Pyramids - tour co. wants passport info in advance?

[cruis247g]

We're docking in Alexandria and are arranging a tour of the pyramids. Based on the many glowing recs on CC, we had decided on DeCastro. However, DeCastro has requested our passport info in advance -- not just country of issue, but passport #, etc. I'm uncomfortable sending this out to anyone, especially over the internet. Is this a common practice? Have others done this? I don't want to cause a delay in our group, but I'm concerned. Thanks so much!

[bdbj2512]

hi i have booked decastro also and he asked the same info from me. also to wire deposit money. there are a few people in our group who do not feel comfortable doing this so i do not know what to do either but if it makes you feel any better he has asked for the same info from me

[cruis247g]

hi i have booked decastro also and he asked the same info from me. also to wire deposit money. there are a few people in our group who do not feel comfortable doing this so i do not know what to do either but if it makes you feel any better he has asked for the same info from me

 

Thanks for the info. They also asked for a wired deposit from our group. I guess consistency is "good", but I'm still unsure about what to do regarding the passport info. I wonder if other tour operators ask for the same info.

[kruzin']

:)When we did Blue Nile (90 from CC) they did not request any$ til the 2nd day of the tour..We had 3 buses and it was great

[bdbj2512]

i have seen other people on here who did wire money and had no problems. i would feel better if he did not need us to wire it. he actually emailed me and told me that it is in feb so not to worry about that now and he is trying to set it up so he can take credit card deposits. nile blue is a lot more expensive and decastro has really good reviews to so i am hoping it all works out

[aussiecruzer]

We did an overnight tour with De Castro and found them to be excellent. A fellow cruise critic member organised the tour so I emailed her our passport numbers and details and she passed them on to De Castro along with the wired deposit. In my experience, De Castro are a totally professional organisation and I think you should not have any concerns about passing on your information.

[cruis247g]

I've now spoken with numerous people about the passport number issue and it was strongly recommended not to give passport numbers out like this, so we're not going to do so. However, having said that, I contacted Moustafa at DeCastro and he said that we could still do this without passport numbers, i.e. passport information is not essential. Also, from what I've heard, most other tour companies do not require the passport numbers in advance and do not seem to have any problems, so it should be okay. (I hope:o)

 

There is another thread where money is discussed (it's called "DeCastro Deposit" and was started by CatGirl). A lot of people have responded. It might be helpful to anyone with money concerns.

[jesse]

i'm reading this and wondering if perhaps either cruise critic has ever responded to a similar question, or if it just takes calling the passport office in my home city to check that question

[smeyer418]

I am curious why you don't want to give your passport number. They can't do anything with it but get a visa. Is there something I am missing?